WASHINGTON, D.C. — After receiving sharp criticism from President Donald Trump in a recent New York Times interview, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said today that he will continue to serve in his office “as long as that is appropriate.”

“I have the honor of serving as attorney general. It’s something that goes beyond any thought I would have ever had for myself,” Sessions said a press conference today. “[DOJ] will continue every single day to work hard to serve the national interests and we wholeheartedly join in the priorities that President Trump.”

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Sessions’ response comes a day after President Donald Trump expressed his frustration with Sessions over the Attorney General’s decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation.

“Sessions should have never recused himself. . . And if he was going to recuse himself he should have told me before he took the job and I would have picked somebody else,” Trump told the New York Times. “If he would have recused himself before the job, I would have said, ‘thanks, Jeff, but I’m not going to take you.’ It’s extremely unfair and that’s a mild word.”

The apparent deterioration of the Trump-Sessions relationship follows the close partnership during the Republican Primary and the 2016 General Election. Sessions came out as the first U.S. Senator to endorse Trump and then served in an advisory capacity for his campaign until his victory.